America’s “gracious executive leaders” are invited to a free New York screening of Park Chan-wook’s brutal late-capitalism satire, No Other Choice. Update 16th December 2025: Distributor Neon has come up with an ingenious little publicity campaign for No Other Choice. It’s sent out an open letter, inviting America’s richest CEOs to a private screening of ... No Other Choice | Distributor invites rich CEOs to a special free screening
America’s “gracious executive leaders” are invited to a free New York screening of Park Chan-wook’s brutal late-capitalism satire, No Other Choice.
Update 16th December 2025: Distributor Neon has come up with an ingenious little publicity campaign for No Other Choice. It’s sent out an open letter, inviting America’s richest CEOs to a private screening of Park Chan-wook’s black comedy thriller.
“To all Fortune 500 CEOs,” the letter reads. “On behalf of Director Park Chan-wook’s new film, No Other Choice, Neon would like to invite you to attend a special screening – just for you – our gracious executive leaders.”
Spotted by Bluesky user Airbagged, the letter sarcastically praises corporate bosses:
“From the unbearable weight you carry upholding your employees’ livelihoods, to the systems you strive to conquer for economic growth, to the conditions and resources you govern in times of strategic mergers and realignment – this is truly a film that speaks to you and the culture you have cultivated!”
The letter ends with an email address, and an invitation to RSVP with credentials to receive a free seat at the New York City screening, taking place on the 17th December.
It’s of a piece with the film itself, which is about a middle-aged paper factory employee who’s suddenly left unemployed after 25 years of service. Desperate to find a new job, he starts tracking down and killing rival suitors to one of the few remaining positions in his chosen industry. It’s a bleakly funny film from Director Park – a brutal parody of the winner-takes-all state of late-stage capitalism.
We do wonder how many CEOs take Neon up on its offer, though. If we were a corporate boss, we’d be faintly worried that someone might lock the cinema doors and never let us out again…
No Other Choice is in UK cinemas from the 23rd January 2026.
Update 25th July 2025: Neon, the indie film distributor, has released a new version of the same teaser trailer. We’ve updated this post with that embed (see below).
Our original story follows…
22nd July 2025: Park Chan-wook, the director of Oldboy, Stoker, The Handmaiden and more corkers besides, has a new movie primed for release this year. It’s No Other Choice, a characteristically dark-looking thriller based on a novel called The Ax by Donald Westlake (a writer best known for his Parker series of books).
Transporting the source’s events to present day South Korea, No Other Choice stars Lee Byung-hun (star of I Saw The Devil and Squid Game) as Man Soo, a mild-mannered manager who’s fired from his job at a paper merchant’s. Desperate for work, Man Soo resorts to extreme measures to ensure he has an edge over his competitors.
The same book was previously adapted by another acclaimed director, Costa-Gavras, as The Axe in 2005; Park Chan-wook began planning his own adaptation (or remake, depending on how you look at it) four years later, but actually getting the project going took far longer than he anticipated. In the interim, Park has found international success with a host of other films, often laced with tension and black humour; Lady Vengeance, Thirst, and Decision To Leave among those we haven’t mentioned already.
Park finally shot No Other Choice last year, and it’s expected to make its premiere at this autumn’s Venice Film Festival. In June, boutique movie studio Neon purchased the film’s US rights, while Mubi picked it up for release in several other territories. Although currently listed as ‘coming soon’, it’s likely Park’s latest opus is only a few months away from making its public debut – thus putting it into contention for next year’s awards season.
The teasing first trailer (see below) certainly hints at a contender. Bleak, tense, beautifully framed, and ever so slightly odd. But then, what else should we expect from a filmmaker like Park Chan-wook?
